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Dateline: 25th April, 2008
ACE Suspends Derby Playhouse Claim Arts Council England has suspended temporarily its demand for Derby Playhouse Ltd to return more than £1m of funding after the company went into liquidation. The theatre is now hoping to be out of administration by the summer. ACE said it was unconvinced that the directors' rescue plan for the theatre was viable but it wanted to avoid a "costly" court case. The council added that it reserved the right to resurrect its claim for the cash if the theatre's revival plan failed. The Playhouse went into administration before Christmas and a consortium led by board chairman Professor Jonathan Powers began a rescue bid. But after refusing to renew the theatre's annual grant, ACE put in a claim for £1.4m which had been spent on refurbishing the theatre. In a statement the council said, "ACE has a duty, under the Lottery Act, to pursue the return of Lottery funds if they are not used for the purpose for which they were granted. "The administrators of the Derby Playhouse accepted the Arts Council's claim as a creditor but Stephen Edwards (former Playhouse artistic director) challenged the level of that claim through the courts. "We remain unconvinced that the rescue plan for the theatre is viable, but we have concluded that allowing the board to present its case to the administrators and creditors is a less costly route for public funds than pursuing a court case at this time. "We hope to reach an agreement with Mr Edwards outside of a costly court process, but we are not setting aside our claim. In the event of the company going into receivership or liquidation we will pursue it. Our priority is to ensure that the Derby Playhouse site remains available for live, produced theatre." Former Playhouse chief executive Karen Hebden told the Derby Telegraph that negotiations with the Arts Council were at a "delicate stage" but if a settlement were concluded, she would be working on a business plan that she hoped would get the Playhouse out of administration by the summer. Steve Orme
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